by Patrick Glancy

You know you can think of happy memories and feel the happy emotion, if you let yourself. Just like you can think of a scary or sad memory and feel that emotion.

There is obviously a close connection between our emotions and memories. Almost as if the emotion is part of the memory. Our memories are always in our minds so it makes sense that the emotions in our memories can constantly have an effect on how we feel.

The strong emotion associated with memories can cause disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The emotions can also cause more normal life problems, such as anger, stress, sadness, or fear.

Medication commonly prescribed for relief of these issues, but it only attempts to address the ’symptoms’ rather than address the cause. The problem is rarely ‘fixed’ with medication.

The key to long term help with these issues would appear to be the emotional association with the memory. What would happen if that association could be erased, reduced or even changed?

There is research using a medication called propranolol that can be used as an “amnesia drug”. The purpose is to directly disrupt the connection between our memories and the emotions they are associated with.

The study, described in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, talks about psychiatrists at McGill University and Harvard University using the amnesia drug to interrupt the memories of trauma victims. The drug reduces the emotional part of the memory while leaving the conscious part of the memory.

This resulted in people that can remember the memory, but have a sense of detachment or dissociation from the event. The permanence of this process and potential side effects are not yet known.

It all seems a little too sci-fi to me, when there are more reliable, established, and safer methods available.

Specifically hypnosis. Proper hypnosis seems more effective for this process since, when you are in hypnosis, you are using the emotional portion of your mind. This is especially true with memories containing strong emotion from childhood. When experiencing memories from childhood will generally ‘feel’ the age you were when you created the memory.

When using modern hypnosis to re-experience a traumatic memory, the hypnotist needs to be properly trained for the process to be quick and effective. When these conditions are met, the client can experience the memory with the perspective of adulthood. This alone will often reduce or negate the emotions involved.

Working with issues with these methods are about updating perceptions, and beliefs. Not just in a conscious way, but also in a subconscious, feeling way.

About the Author:

Patrick Glancy, National Guild of Hypnotists Board Certified Hypnotist
Stress Management
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